


Come Cover Me

by BrutalWarElf



Series: Shameless Metal RPF [2]
Category: Nightwish, Sonata Arctica
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 01:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1921527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrutalWarElf/pseuds/BrutalWarElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"However cold the wind and rain, I'll be there to ease up your pain."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Cover Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nanouk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanouk/gifts).



> Happy birthday darling <3

Two poets who had nothing to say to each other might be about as ironic as it could get, Tony thought as he stared at the empty beer bottles littering the wooden benches, but the silence that hung over the sauna was as thick as the snow that blanketed the dark pinewood forests around them. The drops of sweat rolling steadily down his back did not feel as cathartic as they usually did, and where they matted the underside of his ponytail his skin itched uncomfortably. The quiet had him on edge; he needed a better distraction from his loud thoughts than sipping beer. 

The curtain of steam that shrouded them both and brought their faces out of focus might as well have been a physical barrier in the way it hindered conversation, confining them to their own minds even though they sat three feet apart. A weariness that had nothing to do with the leisurely activities of the day and everything with the weight of years stood between them, but it was somehow alright; their friendship had always been a safe place for the oppressive moods they both could not seem to escape.

A subtle exhale drew Tony’s eyes to Tuomas’ face. In the low light illuminating the wooden structure shadows deepened the scarring under his cheekbones, his pale skin set off by the dark shade he dyed his hair in. Somehow it gave him a grim and wounded appearance, and Tony wondered how it would look if he retained his natural hair colour, like the blond facial hair he had neglected to dye recently. Gentler, perhaps, or more glacial like his bandmates, he could not quite imagine it.

Knocking back his beer, Tuomas spoke up.

“I’m about ready to get out of here and get on with the heavy drinking, how about you?”

Tony laughed softly, trying to take in the number of bottles they’d drunk between them but a little too fuzzy to accurately count them.

“Best plan I’ve heard all day. After you.”

The gust of cold air that hit them as Tuomas opened the door chased the tatters of heat-induced fog from his mind, but he could not shake the effects of the alcohol as easily. Twilight coloured the snow-covered clearing in shades of icy blue and frost bit at his skin as he followed Tuomas outside, a little unsteady on his legs. With his unfocused stare zoning in on his Tuomas’ back, Tony smirked as a juvenile idea struck him. On impulse he made a grab for the towel Tuomas had wrapped around his waist, yanking it away and giving his unbalanced friend a good shove that landed him face-first into the fresh powder.

A grunt of impact was followed by an indignant exclamation, and Tony could not help but laugh like a five year-old at the white crust of snow that covered him as he scrambled upright and fixed him with a murderous look that was all bark and no bite.

“Yeah, Tony, you really want to start this again?”

When Tuomas gave chase, Tony landed himself in the snow with a badly executed cartwheel to spare himself the indignity of losing a wrestling match. He laughed while Tuomas pelted him with snowballs until the cold sting sapped all sauna’s heat from his extremities.

With chattering teeth and chilled to the bone they eventually found their way back to the cabin. The melting snow in their hair dripping icy trails onto their skin made them both grateful for the dry warmth of the fireplace that was still smouldering in the gloomy room.

Even re-dressed in jeans and flannel plaid, Tony shivered when they converged around a bottle of dubious liquor in front of the flames, damp ponytails the only evidence of their earlier childishness.

“That was so fucking cold, I’ll be feeling it all night.”

Tuomas gave him a small, broody smile from underneath his eyebrows.

“You know you are entirely to blame for that, don’t you?” He chided. “Come here, you little shit.”

Scooting closer, Tuomas rubbed his arms with his gentle hands to get better circulation going, and it was altogether too brief for Tony’s liking when he sat back down on the reindeer rug, tracing circles in the fur because he did not know what to do with himself.

Tuomas raised his pale eyes to his face and held his gaze for a second before taking a swig from the bottle, his expression unreadable. The long, dark winter always got to them, and though drinking numbed the bleakness that pervaded both of them, it never went away completely.

“Aren’t we getting a little old for frolicking in the snow?” Tuomas asked, smiling wryly.

“If we are, getting wasted would definitely be up there with things we should stop doing as well.” Tony answered, pointedly staring at the bottle between them.

“I beg to differ. The older you get, the more bullshit you have to drown, so if anything we should be drinking more.”

“Yeah, you think your pickled liver could handle any more abuse?” Tony teased.

It was no secret that they both had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, like most of their peers.

“We’ll see.” Tuomas shrugged. “If not, tough luck.”

His shuttered expression did not sit well with Tony.

“What do you mean ‘tough luck’?” He demanded, searching Tuomas’ eyes and boring his gaze into them. “Tough luck wouldn’t even begin to describe it.”

“It wouldn’t be a big deal. Sooner or later-”

“Maybe not to you,” He protested, “but what about all that music you haven’t written yet? What about all the people who adore you? You can’t just shrug that off with a ‘tough luck’.”

“Let it go, Tony,” Tuomas implored mildly, taking another long drink.

But he wasn’t ready to let it go – even at his friend’s request – and leave unspoken all the words that made his heart pound in his throat with their urgency. It seemed they had something to say to each other tonight after all. Or at least, Tony had.

“No, you know what? I can’t. You can’t just drop a bombshell like that on me and expect me to take it in stride. It would devastate me if something happened to you, alright?”

“Sorry, I really didn’t mean anything by it.” Tuomas said as if that would close the matter, but Tony wasn’t finished.

“You’re my last defence against this fucking crippling loneliness I’ve got inside me. I need you around.”

Tuomas regarded him silently, unable to form a reply to the admission despite that fact that he’d longed to hear something like that all his life.

Fuelled only in part by alcohol, Tony could not stop the words from spilling out.

“And what’s more – I need you to _want_ to be around for me!” Tempering his tone, he lowered his eyes. “Sorry if that makes me a selfish asshole, but that’s how it is.”

“Hey. Look at me.”

“What?” He said defensively, suddenly embarrassed about his outburst.

“I don’t think that’s selfish at all. Possibly the opposite... And you’re right to ask it of me.”

“No, it’s… fuck. I’m an idiot.” He sighed.  

There was no amount of backpedalling that was going to save him from having to own up to his words.

“All I’m saying is… I really care about you, and I want you to know that. You ought to, I mean. Vittu.” He swore softly at the loss of control he was experiencing, hanging his head.

“Damn it, Tony.”

Shifting from where he sat cross-legged on the floor, Tuomas inched closer, his hand at the back of Tony’s neck pulling him the rest of the way. With their faces unbearably close, their eyes meeting felt like something monumental clicking in place, and his mouth dried with sudden nerves flaring up. There was no backing down from this; no amount of alcohol to excuse it.

Still, they kissed.   


End file.
